In the beginning
by wicketi love cricket
Summary: Lily Evans, one of the most polite and well-mannered students Hoqwarts has to offer, manages to get herself caught up in the affairs of James Potter, a rebellious troublemaker who thrives on risk taking and lives on creating mayhem...
1. Chapter One

DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise (id est: characters, settings, 'phrases' etc.) are not my own creation. This said, some characters, settings and 'phrases' do belong to me, just so you know. Enjoy.  
  
~  
  
Chapter One  
  
Lily Evans eagerly boarded the Hogwarts Express to return for her seventh and final year of her magical education. Over the summer, it was all she had looked forward to, that and being around her friends everyday. She entered a compartment at the end of the steam engine which she and her friends occupied year in, year out. In the compartment there sat two fellow Gryffindors: Kate and Alicia.  
  
Not to say that Lily did not have many friends, for her responsibility, generosity, caring and kind nature had not only given her many friends but had scored her the position of Headgirl, but Kate and Alicia were her closest friends, the ones she confided in and them all being in the same house had provoked this.  
  
The three girls were a strange bunch. Alicia was full of self-respect -but that is not to say she looked down onto people. She was not self-absorbed, but she did take care of herself. She was always polite to people, whether she knew them or not, and gracefully accepted comments on her dead straight, waist length brown hair.  
  
Kate was a bit wilder and could be very confident. Though she had not always been so self-opinionated, Alicia and Lily had helped her true colours to shine, though it took countless comments about how beautiful her long, blonde ringlets were, how long and slender her legs were and how her dazzling blue eyes had made her every guys dream. Though she declined such comments were true, her friends and everyone around her could see through her modesty. She soon became very indulged in her looks and eventually learned to love life and did not want to do anything more or less than enjoy it and have everyone do the same.  
  
Lily, on the other hand, was different in the way that some of her traits were similar to that of her friends -in some cases exaggerated -and yet, some of her traits were individually hers. Physically she was recognised by her lengthy, dark red hair, her slender build and medium height and her bright green eyes. Like Alicia, Lily was extremely polite. If someone were to drop something she would not think twice about picking it up. If someone could manage to make a snide remark about her, Lily would never retaliate but would continue to greet them with the same friendly 'hullo' she always did; though of course there was but one acception. This said she would never stand for people criticising others. Lily liked to enjoy herself, but would never do so at another's expense. What made her different was that when she felt strongly about something, she was always able to make her voice heard, to get her opinion across and have changes made. Though this could be seen as a link between Lily and Kate, Kate would go as far as expressing her point of view but refrains from seeing the matter through.  
  
The three girls proved to be popular because of their goodness. To an outsider it could easily appear that these girls have it all, but personal problems created the balance between having it all and having nothing.  
  
Lily placed her things aside and sat herself down in a seat opposite the two girls. They greeted each other before the door to their compartment slid open, permitting four boys in, the first of which to enter kept rumpling his hair. These four boys were about as well known to the Hogwarts community as the three girls in the compartment were, though for different reasons.  
  
The group of boys consisted entirely of Gryffindor seventh years: namely James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.  
  
James was the first to enter, he was tall, had a thin stature and jet black hair that was always untidy and always stood up at the back. He wore glasses over his hazel eyes and was very talented on the Quidditch pitch and had held the position of Gryffindor captain for the past three years.  
  
Sirius was much like James. He was tall and thin with dark hair, but his fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance that James's could never have achieved. His eyes rivaled the darkness of the night sky and he was easily the most handsome.  
  
James and Sirius were the best of friends -they were inseparable and without a doubt the cleverest students in the school. One never went anywhere without the other close by and it had always been like that.  
  
Remus was not quite as tall as James and Sirius, but was still much taller than Peter. His hair was a light brown and the softness of his eyes gave his face a look of innocence.  
  
Peter was quite short, he was mousy haired, he had a pointy nose and small watery eyes. He hero-worshipped James and Sirius but was not quite in the same league as the other three and he would lag behind in his schoolwork if it were not for all the help that they gave him.  
  
The four could be classed as rebellious -they were always breaking rules for the excitement involved. The caretaker was well acquainted with the boys, what with how often they were in trouble. They loved to pull the odd prank here and there -though sometimes they breached the line -but could never resist doing something to the Slytherins, especially one particular Slytherin.  
  
'Congratulations, Evans, Headgirl I hear?' Said a pleasant, deep and mature voice.  
  
Lily paused for a moment. Since when were they anywhere near this polite? She had to force herself to speak.  
  
'Thank-you James.' Lily said pleasantly.  
  
There was a bit of shuffling around as room was made for the boys to sit with them and Kate positioned herself extraordinarily close to Sirius. This is odd, thought Lily, she normally showed disapproval over their prank making, yet here she was making room for them to share her compartment.  
  
'I guess that means prancing around the halls, checking for anybody up to no good.' Sirius chuckled at his own joke. Remus elbowed him. 'Well, the bathroom is supposed to be even better than the prefects one, isn't it?'  
  
'With a personal Jacuzzi.' Said Remus.  
  
'And a massage table.' Added James.  
  
'And a personal masseur!' Kate added.  
  
Sirius gaped for a moment.  
  
'I think I'd prefer a masseuse.' He said casually.  
  
'You would!' Exclaimed Alicia.  
  
'Uh -Remus, I think it's about time we head off -' Lily began.  
  
'Ah yes,' Sirius interrupted her, 'Moony's got himself a bit of responsibility too, being a prefect and all.'  
  
Sirius clearly thought it an insult to be given that sort of responsibility. Peter laughed and Sirius rolled his eyes.  
  
'We'll see you girls later,' said James, 'Padfoot, what do you say we go find out where Snivellus is hiding?'  
  
Sirius suddenly became thoroughly excited as his face lit up.  
  
'Excellent!'  
  
Not wanting to know what they were going to do, Lily left for the prefect compartment with Remus. Lily spent the next hour giving out instructions to the prefects with the Headboy after changing into her robes.  
  
In the meantime, James and Sirius were going through compartments one by one, searching for a seventeen-year old boy with dark, lank and greasy hair and a hooked nose. They were tempted to pester several other students but kept reminding themselves who their target was: Severus Snape.  
  
Lily was patrolling the corridor when she heard 'enargmus!'' from a nearby compartment. Lily bolted inside where she found James holding his wand out infront of him wearing a smirk. Beside him Sirius was barking with laughter and infront of them Severus had fallen back onto a seat and his nose was becoming larger and larger that he soon had trouble supporting his head. She suppressed a laugh. She did not like Severus Snape in the slightest but it was her duty to put a stop to this.  
  
'Will the two of you ever grow up?' Lily asked.  
  
They all suddenly noticed that Lily was in the room and James's hand quickly jumped to his hair.  
  
'Evans!' His voice suddenly became pleasant, deep and mature once more, 'I see you've decided you'd like to participate in our -'  
  
'That's enough Potter!' Lily snapped.  
  
Lily did not want to help Severus -she promised herself she would never help him again after she had done so in her fifth year -but she had to discourage James and Sirius from pursuing their 'light hearted' pranking. But this time, she was unsure about how to go about it.  
  
'Come on Evans, it's not like we've made much of a difference to him -I'm surprised his neck could support a head carrying an unnaturally large nose in the first place.' James smirked.  
  
Sirius barked a laugh and Lily fought to keep her face straight.  
  
'Potter,' Lily really had no idea what to do, 'why do you keep doing this? Why won't you give it a rest?'  
  
'I'll give it a rest, Evans, if you'll go out with me.'  
  
Lily did not even have to think twice about this -it was not worth it. He so often tried to persuade her in that way and she felt that even if she did submit to his request, he would not refrain from harassing people for the fun of it.  
  
'I've said it before Potter, I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid!'  
  
'You've been stung again, mate.' Sirius turned back to Severus and raised his wand. Lily quickly pulled out her own wand. Sirius stared at it daringly and then turned his wand on her. 'Imped-' James leapt onto him before he could finish the spell.  
  
'Don't jinx the lady!' James said to Sirius.  
  
Unable to see herself having any effect on the situation at hand, Lily left them to their own devices.  
  
Lily returned to her compartment where she rejoined he friends for the remainder of the journey. They were soon pulling up at Hogsmeade station where they boarded the apparently horseless carriages, which took them to the castle's entrance. From there they sat themselves at their house tables, patiently waited until the end of the sorting, enjoyed the feast and then went up to their dormitories for a good night sleep.  
  
Lily still had butterflies.  
  
~  
  
A/N: At the moment, my fanfic doesn't seem like anything special, but character building takes time. Whether you enjoyed it or not, please review, as I won't be putting up the next chapter until I get a certain number of reviews. I am open to suggestions, friendly criticism, predictions of what may happen next or just your general thoughts and ideas. If you've read it, you'll notice that this fanfic relates to some material in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	2. Chapter Two

DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise (id est: characters, settings, 'phrases' etc.) are not my own creation. This said, some characters, settings and 'phrases' do belong to me, just so you know.  
  
And another point I have to make: words that are supposed to be in itallics instead are written like ^this^.  
  
~  
  
Chapter Two  
  
By the end of their first week back, James and Sirius had already landed themselves in detention for causing a stir in a girl's lavatory. On the Sunday, Lily was checking the notice board for exactly that -notices.  
  
'Hmm.' Lily heard someone else approaching the notices, 'there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up in a couple of weeks -'  
  
'Great! I've been running low on multiplying mice since me and Sirius let them get a bit of exercise in the girls' -'  
  
'Have fun in detention, Potter?' Lily asked.  
  
'Well, hearing the reactions from the girls was more -I bet you were one of the ones that screamed.' James smirked.  
  
'If you think that then you don't know me very well, Potter.'  
  
'So you did scream.'  
  
'I didn't say that.'  
  
'I know you did.'  
  
'I didn't.'  
  
'I don't believe you.'  
  
'I don't care.'  
  
'But I'll pretend to believe you if you go out with me.' James grinned.  
  
'Remus can tell you that I wasn't even in the bathroom at the time.' She turned away as James's face fell and he uttered something that sounded a lot like "used the mice for nothing." As she climbed the steps up to her dormitory she felt her face flush -and she did not want to think about why.  
  
'What do you mean it "breaches the limits," Professor?'  
  
'Kate, this attire is simply unacceptable! Return to Gryffindor tower ^at once^ and change into something more appropriate!' McGonagall looked appalled.  
  
'Actually, Professor,' came another voice, 'as it's not a school day, Kate is free to wear whatever she wants to wear.' Kate turned to see who had spoken. It was Sirius.  
  
McGonagall appeared to be in a state of deep thought about the situation. She clearly disapproved of Kate's skirt which cut off halfway down her thigh and sat low on her hips and the eight inches of bare midriff that was displayed beneath her top and the plunging neckline. Kate could not see anything wrong with it and neither, by no surprise, could Sirius.  
  
'Professor, there's nothing you can do to stop her -I mean, she hasn't broken any ^rules^ so you can't make her -'  
  
'You, Mr. Black, have just displayed a legitimate reason for young women to dress appropriately! Kate does ^not^ need undermining adolescents such as yourself ogling at her!' McGonagall seemed unreasonably outrageous.  
  
'And what are you going to do about it?' Sirius daringly asked her.  
  
'Black! How ^dare^ you speak to any teacher in that tone! Twenty points from Gryffindor! Yeas my own house! Now get out of my face, both of you, before I am tempted to act rather irrationally!'  
  
With that, the two of them bolted around the corner and hid behind a statue of Wilfred the wonderer where Kate laughed into Sirius's chest.  
  
'What are you tittering at?' Sirius asked.  
  
'It's just -oh -a bit rich of ^you^ to be talking about rule-breaking!' She giggled.  
  
He wrapped his arms around her, laying his hands to rest on her hips, and smiled at her provocatively.  
  
'So, what are you going to do?' He asked.  
  
'About what?' Kate asked, unintentionally batting her eyelashes.  
  
'About your "attire".'  
  
'Oh that! Well. you said it yourself -she can't make me change.'  
  
'You make it hard to believe you're Lily's friend!'  
  
'Ah. well. Lily. now ^there's^ a showstopper! But you wait -she won't be her usual self so much this year with our NEWTs to look forward to. I'd say she'd be a bit more -lax- so she can concentrate.'  
  
As the day wore on, students could be found outside chatting away with friends, sitting among the first autumn leaves to fall.  
  
Beneath the warm rays of the sun, on a patch of grass beside the lake, sat four boys making the most of the last few hours of the weekend.  
  
'Hagrid won't mind.' James stated.  
  
'Are you kidding? He'd be thrilled!' Said Sirius.  
  
'But how are we going to get it in there?' Asked Peter.  
  
The other three gaped at him in disbelief.  
  
'We didn't spend all that time making that map for nothing! Honestly! "How are we going to get it in there"-' James mimicked.  
  
'Now Wormtail,' Sirius began to speak to Peter as though he was a teacher explaining something to a student, 'being legends of this school has it's many advantages -and limitless boundaries is one of them.'  
  
Peter nodded as though he finally understood.  
  
'When are we going to do it?' Remus asked.  
  
'Moony! You're going to join in this time are you?' Sirius teased.  
  
'Leave that to me.' Said James in answer to Remus's question.  
  
Monday seemed to drag by as though time had been called to a halt. Quidditch training ended in the late hours of the night, then James met up with Sirius outside the castle and they made their way over to Hagrid's cabin.  
  
'Are you sure about this?'  
  
'Is Sirius Black doubting the great James Potter's plan? Of course I'm sure! Honestly! You're starting to sound like Moony!'  
  
They trudged along the grass until they reached the front door. James rapped on the door with the back of his fist, which was followed by shuffling footsteps. Then, the door opened slightly.  
  
' 'O's there?'  
  
'It's James and Sirius, Hagrid.' Said James.  
  
The door was swung open as far as its hinges would permit and in the doorway stood a giant of a man with a slightly whiskery face and eyes that glinted like black beetles.  
  
'James Potter! Bin wond'rin' when I'd see yeh again!'  
  
Hagrid shifted from the doorway and permit them to enter.  
  
' 'lo Hagrid.' Sirius said gruffly, a bit put out because Hagrid had not acknowledged him.  
  
' 'lo ter yeh too, young Sirius!'  
  
They made themselves comfortable onHagrid's sofa while Hagrid busied himself in the kitchen.  
  
'Would yeh like a cup o' tea?' He asked.  
  
'Yes please!' Sirius replied without thinking.  
  
James and Sirius patiently waited as Hagrid made some tea.  
  
'Now, yeh two don' come visitin' me much no more, so what is it yeh want?'  
  
'Hagrid!' Sirius said in an innocent voice that fooled no one, 'why can't we just see an old friend without being accused of -' James elbowed him as a hint to stop talking.  
  
'How are you, Hagrid?' James asked.  
  
Hagrid eyed him suspiciously.  
  
'Fine, jus' fine. So, what do yeh two want?'  
  
'What makes you think we want something, Hagrid?' Sirius asked in the same innocent tone.  
  
'Why else would yeh come ter visit me?' Hagrid asked.  
  
'Well Hagrid,' said James, 'we were just wondering if you'd mind sharing some of your expertise in magical creatures with us.'  
  
'Well, ah,' Hagrid flushed, 'yeh really ought ter be askin' Professor Kettleburn -'  
  
'We don't think Kettleburn would tell us about the type of creatures ^we^ want to know about.' Siriu said with a glint in his eyes.  
  
Hagrid showed an expression of thought.  
  
'What are yeh two up ter?' He asked.  
  
'Nothing -honestly, we're just curios.' Stated Sirius.  
  
'And we know you know it all, Hagrid, Kettleburn only knows the basics.' James made an attempt at buttering Hagrid up.  
  
'Well, I wouldn' go sayin tha' -'  
  
'What can you tell us about the Ballox?' Sirius cut in.  
  
'The -the Ballox?' Hagrid's eyes widened, 'I'll not tell yeh anythin' 'bout tha'!'  
  
'Why not?!' Sirius asked.  
  
'Yeh're not s'posed ter know 'bout 'em!'  
  
'Hagrid,' James said slyly, 'we know a lot of things we're not supposed to.'  
  
It took perhaps twenty minutes for James and Sirius to get Hagrid to tell them as much as he could.  
  
'They're righ' dang'ros, they are -wouldn' come within a mile of 'em. No sir -they eat anythin' they can find, and tha's pretty much everythin', mind yeh, they'll rip yeh ter shreds before yeh realise it's near yeh. but they don' kill yeh see. eat most of yeh while yeh're still alive. it's the pain they cause tha's got most people 'fraid of 'em. can be righ' violen', they can. but don' yeh go huntin fer 'em now, boys, don'. There's not a soul out there who'd be stupid enough to do tha' -'  
  
'What makes you think we'd do that?' Sirius asked with a false tone of hurt.  
  
'It's late, boys, yeh best be goin' -g'night.'  
  
'Night Hagrid.' The boys said in unison as they left his cabin,  
  
They trudged back along the grass towards the castle.  
  
'Somehow, I don't think Dumbledore would approve of us implanting a Ballox in the Slytherin common room -if, by some miracle, we managed to get a hold of one.' Sirius said sarcastically.  
  
'Shut up, Sirius, I'm thinking.'  
  
~  
  
A/N: If you're finding this boring, you have got to let me know. And if there's anything that doesn't make sense to you (which I'm sure there is), just ask, because I'd be happy to answer.  
  
Just like everybody else, I love reviews -so if you want the next chapter (or you don't want the next chapter) review. I love it when people make suggestions.  
  
That's a hint.  
  
Thankyou to my reviewers, especially Sploogal for her detailed (and critical) review. 


	3. Chapter Three

DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise (id est: characters, settings, 'phrases' etc.) are not my own creation. This said, some characters, settings and 'phrases' do belong to me, just so you know.  
  
I'm sick of writing that.  
  
And just as before, anyhing that's supposed to be written in italics is written like ^this^.  
  
~  
  
Chapter Three  
  
In the seventh year Gryffindor girl's dorm, Alicia had her Transfiguration book propped up against her pillow and Kate and Lily were deep in conversation.  
  
'^Again?^' Kate asked.  
  
'You'd think after all these years he'd give up, wouldn't you? I mean - it's not like I haven't made my point clear, is it?' Said Lily.  
  
The topic of discussion was one James Potter.  
  
'Would your point be that you're not interested?' Kate asked.  
  
Lily nodded.  
  
'It seems he's over-persistent, if you ask me.' Alicia chimed in.  
  
'More like pigheaded.' Lily stated.  
  
' I wonder if he realises that he's going about it in the wrong way.' Alicia said in curiosity.  
  
'He's too arrogant to thing differently - if it's not onehundred percent right, then it's got nothing to do with James Potter.' Said Lily.  
  
Alicia and Kate knew Lily well enough to know that, despite her extreme kindness, these James Potter rants were quite normal.  
  
'I thought he might've grown up over the summer, I thought he might've changed for the better.' Lily trailed off.  
  
'But you don't care, right?' Alicia asked.  
  
'Lily cares about everyone! Don't you Lils?' asked Kate.  
  
Lily gave a halfhearted laugh.  
  
'Why doesn't he give up?' asked Alicia. 'Because,' said Kate, 'James Potter ^never^ gives up until he gets what he wants - and what he wants is Lily.'  
  
'He won't give up until he gets what he wants.' Remus told Sirius and Peter.  
  
They watched James as he sat bolt upright in one of the squashy common room chairs, his fingers digging into the armrests and his brow furrowed in thought.  
  
'I didn't realise he was still interested in Lily.' Said Peter.  
  
'You're so naïve.' Remus shot at him.  
  
In truth, James had more than Lily on his mind - he was going to get a Ballox into the Slytherin common room, he just had to be careful...  
  
The three moved closer to him. Thinking he needed to keep the Ballox plans to himself for the time being, he acted as though Lily was the ^only^ thing on his mind.  
  
'One day she'll say yes.' Said James.  
  
'Lily?' Sirius asked.  
  
James nodded.  
  
'Prongs, mate, I think that, for the first time in your life, you may be going about this the wrong way.' Said Sirius.  
  
'You're one to talk.' James retorted.  
  
Remus buried himself in a book while Peter listened carefully to James and Sirius's discussion.  
  
'I'm not the one that's too stupid to realise she's not interested!' said Sirius.  
  
'What do you mean? Of course she's interested -she's just too stubborn to admit it!'  
  
'Why are you so interested in Lily though? There's a heap of other girls out there!' Sirius stated.  
  
'Is it because,' came a voice that was protruding from the staircase, 'it's so obvious that Lily is in absolutely no way interested in you that you've been provoked to "get" her?'  
  
James and Sirius had both turned their heads to face the girl's staircase and discover whom the voice belonged to. It was Alicia.  
  
'I thought that James Potter, being as clever as he is, could tell that Lily feels nothing for him.' She continued as she made her way to one of the armchairs opposite them.  
  
James looked at her in thought, as though he was trying to come up with a plan but there was too much on his mind.  
  
'I'll give you a tip: give up.' She said.  
  
James lay on his bed, trying to push Lily out of his mind so that he could continue the Ballox plot, but when every attempt failed, he allowed thoughts of her to penetrate his mind.  
  
He could not help but be entertained by Lily when he made an attempt at blackmailing her into going out with him. He knew that everytime he asked her in this way that she would give him a reply that somewhere along the lines meant "no". But he found himself longing for her to say "yes". Could she turn him down forever?  
  
'I need a plan.' He said aloud to himself.  
  
Lily seemed to think that he, James, was. immature? Or was she just not interested because. he was not her type? She thought he was too good for her? No -that was just James being cocky. Besides, thought James, no one is too good for Lily.  
  
So, what did that leave him with? What was his plan? Lily does not like. Lily does not like it when James asks her out as though he is giving her a treat so. he would just have to ask her out in a way that made it sound sincere!  
  
'Hogsmeade weekend!' He yelled as he sat bolt upright.  
  
He scrambled down the stairs from the boy's dorm and ran through the common room towards the girl's dorms. For some reason, he had to ask Lily out and he had to do it ^now^.  
  
'Where are you going?' Asked Sirius.  
  
'To ask Lily out.' James answered.  
  
'Didn't you hear anything we told you? Don't you listen?' Sirius asked, not expecting an answer. Then he turned to Alicia, 'gone off his rocker.'  
  
James climbed a few steps to the girl's dorm before sliding down again. He stood up and brushed himself off while muttering, 'I forgot about that.'  
  
'What do you mean you "forgot about that"? Has it been ^that^ long since you were with a girl?' Sirius snickered.  
  
'Some of us aren't as sleazy as you, Padfoot.' James smirked.  
  
'Ah -and you only have eyes for Lily.' Sirius said maliciously.  
  
'Alicia, is she up there?' James asked.  
  
Alicia merely shrugged with a knowing smile. This agitated James beyond his tolerance so he stormed back up to his dorm.  
  
He had the urge to ask Lily out as he never had done before -he had the sensational feeling that, this time, for the first time, she would say yes. He just knew it -after all, why would she reject him this time?  
  
He grabbed his invisibility cloak and prepared himself to wait in the common room all night for her, unable to be seen.  
  
He waited, and waited.  
  
She never came.  
  
Lily sat beside Kate and Alicia in Transfiguration, unaware of James penetrating her with his eyes. She was too busy writing down every minor detail that Professor McGonagall brought up in case it came up in their NEWT's to notice.  
  
James, on the other hand, was not listening to a word Professor McGonagall said, believing he knew everything there was to Transfiguration.  
  
He had been disappointed that Lily had not gone to the common room at all on Tuesday night, but two days later he was still keen on asking her out. He was just having a hard time getting near enough to even make a general greeting, that's all.  
  
In the spare minutes they had between Transfiguration and Herbology, James found a way to suppress his bad mood when he and Sirius found Severus Snape.  
  
Minutes later, James and Sirius had Severus trapped behind a door. They were barking with laughter from his unsuccessful attempts at throwing himself at the door in hope that it may burst open, cursing them all the same for stealing his wand.  
  
Just as Severus gave another heave, James and Sirius stepped back from the door, allowing Severus to tumble through the door and fall in a heap on the floor.  
  
'Looking for this, Snivellus?' Sirius said coolly, holding up the stolen wand.  
  
'Give that back to him ^at once^ Black!'  
  
McGonagall had just made her way around the corner and had evidently, caught them in the act.  
  
Sirius looked at James with a wry smile. James shrugged and, in turn, Sirius tossed the wand to Severus where it hit him on the nose.  
  
'Detention for the two of you -now get to class!' She bellowed.  
  
James and Sirius shrugged before bolting around the corner. As McGonagall left in the opposite direction she could be heard muttering, 'we'll never get through to them, never,' beneath her breath.  
  
In Herbology, James did just as he had done in Transfiguration -his eyes were boring into the back of Lily's head, unable to keep his eyes away from those red tresses.  
  
He would ask her right after class, he decided, but class seemed to have no end. He had an extreme desire to be the first one out.  
  
When they were dismissed James bolted outside where he waited for Lily. When he saw her, he pulled her aside and then realised he had not thought about what to say.  
  
'Yes? Did you -want something?' She asked in her polite tone.  
  
'Uh -it was -yeah, as a matter of fact, I do want something.' His face clouded over.  
  
'Well?' Lily brought him back to earth.  
  
'Uh.' he suddenly regained his confidence, 'I was thinking that we should go to Hogsmeade together -'  
  
'Are you asking me out, Potter?' She asked, as she had never heard him ask her in like that before.  
  
'Yep.' He replied.  
  
He watched Lily's mouth intently -he could see by the shape it had assumed that she was about to say what he hoped she would.  
  
'Yeah, I'll go out with you, Potter,' his heart leapt, 'right after I dig my grave.'  
  
~  
  
A/N: How come I'm not really getting any reviews? Don't I have any loyal fans? Or any fans at all? Apparently not -if I don't get more reviews before the next chapter goes up, I think I'll scrap this story.  
  
Unless Sploogal kills me before I get the chance. ={  
  
But thanks to the people who did review! 


	4. Chapter Four

DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise isn't mine. If you don't recognise it -it's mine.  
  
And Sploogal -the next chapter is here so you can't kill me on my birthday!  
  
And as before -anything in itallics is written like ^this^.  
  
Chapter Four  
  
On Friday night the three girls were sitting around the common room fire, discussing the behavioural patterns of James Potter.  
  
'I'm sick of it!' Lily blurted out.  
  
'Care to be more specific?' Asked Alicia.  
  
'Who's stupid enough to persist their antics on someone when they keep telling them it's pointless?' Lily asked.  
  
'Well, James knows he can get you ' Alicia began.  
  
'He's just going about it the wrong way, that's all.' Kate finished.  
  
'I wish he wouldn't go about it at all.' Said Lily.  
  
'Why's that?' Kate asked. 'I think it's sweet.'  
  
'What's sweet about it?' Lily retorted.  
  
Kate shrugged.  
  
'Why don't you just go out with him?' Asked Alicia.  
  
'Because,' said Lily, 'then he'd think he'd won me over -aside from the fact I don't ^want^ to go out with him, I think that, quite frankly, he doesn't ^deserve^ to go out with anyone -'  
  
'Now that's a bit harsh!' said Kate, 'what's he done that makes him "undeserving"?'  
  
Lily was tempted to give the kind of answer James would give if the question was about someone else, "it's not what he's done, it's more the fact that he exists..."  
  
'He's a sleaze.' Was as much as Lily could say.  
  
'Says who?' Asked Alicia.  
  
'Well... that's just the impression I get -' Lily was cut short.  
  
'I reckon you should give him a chance.' said Kate.  
  
'Yeah, you give everyone else a chance -why not James?' Asked Alicia.  
  
'Because the thought of what James might do if I did terrifies me.' Answered Lily.  
  
'What? A snog or a shag?' Kate asked.  
  
'Both -I don't want to imagine those lips on mine and -'  
  
'Enough said, Lily, tell us the details ^after^ it's happened.' Said Alicia.  
  
'Which is never.' Said Lily.  
  
'Of course it is.' Added Kate.  
  
'James irks me.' Said Lily.  
  
'What if he comes in here now while we're talking about him?' Alicia queried.  
  
'He won't,' came a voice from the fat lady's portrait, 'he's at quidditch training.' They turned to face Sirius, Kate smiling erotically.  
  
'Stop pulling our legs, Evans the snog and the shag's not what frightens you -you're just scared he'll break your heart.' Sirius teased.  
  
'Lily isn't interested in James in the slightest,' said Alicia, 'would you care to pass on the message to your delinquent friend?'  
  
Sirius cackled.  
  
'Been there, done that -and so have a lot of other people, for that matter. This "imprinting" thing doesn't work with this duckling.' He said.  
  
'What was that about?' Kate asked, confused.  
  
'Something I read in a muggle magazine about ducklings.' He muttered.  
  
'When's your detention, Sirius?' Lily asked, changing the subject.  
  
'Monday night,' he frowned, 'they're running out of ideas -I'm cleaning the third floor and James is cleaning the Great Hall -in the muggle way, obviously. we must each get these ones at least eight times a year.'  
  
Lily frowned in disapproval.  
  
'It just goes to show you spend more time in detention than you do anywhere else.' She said.  
  
Sirius glowed with pride.  
  
'Take nothing for granted.' He said and then retreated up into the boys dormitory.  
  
'What was that all about?' Alicia asked.  
  
***  
  
The waterfall was the most bizarre yet the most enticing he had ever seen. the water was a deep red and he longed to touch it. He strode towards the captivating site but just a few feet away he tripped. he felt the ground for what he had tripped over and found a pair of marbles which resembled a pair of dazzling green human eyes.  
  
The sound of water on water drew his attention away from the fascinating marbles and on to the peculiar waterfall which he longed to touch. He was but centimeters away, his hand outstretched, ready to feel the coolness of the red water. He slowly moved his hand into the red water, waiting for the feeling of cold. But his expected feeling of cold water was replaced by one of warm, silky... tresses?  
  
James sat up in his four-poster bed. at this moment James came to realise he did not just ^like^ Lily -no, what he felt was far more than lust. he needed to speak to her. where would she be on a Saturday morning? He checked the time. right now, Lily would be asleep, he thought.  
  
He threw his bed back onto his pillow and tried to go back to sleep. He couldn't -everytime he shut his eyes the image of Lily's dark red hair and magnificent emerald green eyes made their way into his mind.  
  
He had the fortune, though, of ending up eating breakfast at the same time as Lily -in fact, it seemed the whole school was eating breakfast at the same time -was it something to do with the weather?  
  
Owls came to deliver their daily post, one of them giving a letter to Lily. As Kate left her seat to speak to a Hufflepuff about some Potions homework, James took her place beside Lily. That hair -he wanted to feel it and know for sure that it felt like silk -and those eyes -he looked into them and forgot how to use his tongue.  
  
'Can I -help you?' Lily asked in that polite tone of hers, while reading her letter.  
  
'Go to Hogsmeade with me.' He said.  
  
'Is that another request to go on a date?' She asked.  
  
'I can't think of anything else it could be.' James stated.  
  
'Why do you keep doing this?' Lily raised her voice, 'why do you ask the same thing over and over again and expect the answer to change? Why?'  
  
The entire hall had fallen into silence and was listening to their conversation. James could tell by the look on Lily's face she was in rage -but this was Lily rage, benign but effective. James did not know why, but he felt rage boiling inside him, too.  
  
'What's your problem?!' Lily bellowed, 'doesn't anything anyone says to you penetrate that thick skull of yours?!'  
  
They were both standing up now, yelling at eachother though they were merely inches apart. it was not like Lily to say something like that to him -it was not like Lily to say something like that to ^anyone^, come to think of it.  
  
He swore at Lily, calling her a few terrible things, making some very nasty comments and saying a range of highly snide remarks. James had the sudden urge to make this as difficult for Lily as possible. as Sirius and Remus were dragging a defensive James out of the Great Hall, James decided to make his impact.  
  
'Don't worry, Evans!' James roared while being restrained by his friends, 'I'll whisk you away and we'll get married!'  
  
***  
  
'You prat!' Sirius threw James onto one of the armchairs in the common room. 'What-in-the-name-of-Merlin-did-you-do-that-for?!'  
  
James looked up. 'Do what?'  
  
Sirius started pacing, shaking his head. 'I hope you weren't really keen on her -because you've screwed it all up!'  
  
'What do you mean I "screwed it all up"?!' James said, his temper beginning to rise again, taking offense to being told he, James Potter, was capable of screwing up. Screwing, he knew he was capable of, but screwing up?  
  
'You embarassed her infront of the whole school for the love of God!' Sirius responded.  
  
'Really? How'd I do that?' James asked, faking interest.  
  
'Well, apparently, Lily doesn't matter to you as much as I thought she did so it doesn't really matter, now, does it?!'  
  
'Why would she be upset over that? It was really -' James was cut off.  
  
'Well, ^you^ wouldn't've seen it! You were too busy being a prick!' Sirius said.  
  
'Seen ^what?^' James was getting frustrated.  
  
'She was ^crying^, James.' Sirius told him.  
  
'^Crying?!^ Why on earth was she ^crying?!^' James asked.  
  
'I don't know -don't ask ^me^ how a girl's mind works!' Sirius retorted.  
  
James eyed Sirius with suspicion.  
  
'Why do you care so much?' James asked slowly.  
  
'Because Lily's a nice person -even ^you^ should know she doesn't deserve to be treated like that!' Sirius replied.  
  
'Like ^what?^' James persisted.  
  
Sirius shot him a dark look. 'If you haven't figured it out already, I'm not going to tell you.'  
  
James was very perturbed by Sirius's response and in turn stormed out of Gryffindor tower. Nothing was making sense -why had Sirius turned on him? Why had Lily cried? He had not said anything offensive, well, nothing worse than he had said to other people. But above all, why had he yelled? Why had he yelled what he did in particular? None of this made sense to James -and he wanted answers.  
  
Perhaps, he thought, he had yelled at Lily because he did not like her at all? Perhaps he loathed her?  
  
***  
  
Lily, Kate and Alicia were clustered up in a corner of the library, hiding behind a large book and talking in whispers, Lily with tear-stained cheeks.  
  
'It's okay Lily, now the whole school knows he's a prat.' said Kate.  
  
'But -it's just -I was seriously considering giving him a chance -' Lily was cut short.  
  
'Don't -you were right, he doesn't deserve it.' Alicia offered.  
  
'Besides,' Kate began, 'you can do much better than the likes of him.'  
  
'I say it's time for a little payback.' Alicia suggested  
  
'H-how do you mean?' Lily asked in curiosity.  
  
'Torment him -just get another candidate to string along and James will -'  
  
'No Kate, I couldn't toy with someone's feelings like that -' Lily began.  
  
'Do you like him,' Alicia questioned, 'or not?'  
  
Lily grit her teeth. She willed herself to like him but the predicament at breakfast kept intruding her thoughts and lead her to her next three words, 'I hate him.'  
  
A/N: Can you guess why Lily cried?  
  
Until next chapter! 


	5. Chapter Five

By the way -someone mentioned they were confused about James not being Headboy in this fic. I know that it says in 'the philosopher's stone' on page 45, halfway down (well, that's where it is on the version I've read) that Lily and James where Headboy and girl. I've got a reason for doing what I've done -all the characters are generally the same in personality and everything (well, as close as I felt like making them). Sorry if this was a problem for anyone!  
  
Disclaimer: Seen it? Not mine. Not seen it? Mine.  
  
~  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Lily realised, over the next few days, that she seemed to have the attention of many of the boys -none, of which, wanted to confront her after her teary reaction when James had done so. Little did they know that her tears had nothing to do with James -well, they had already been there but James had mystically brought them to the surface. Nobody knew -she had not even told Kate and Alicia about it, which led everyone to believe that James, and only James, had caused her to cry infront of the whole school.  
  
By Wednesday, Lily had composed herself and was ready to ask someone out herself, though she felt her heart was not in the task.  
  
'I don't want to drag along someone who I don't have those kind of feelings for.' She had debated.  
  
'Lily, don't ask anyone,' Kate had told her, 'leave it up to us -'  
  
'I'm ^not^ going on a blind date?' Lily had replied.  
  
'Of course not! We're just -going to. . . surprise you.' Alicia had grinned.  
  
'Uh -' Lily had been about to say.  
  
'We're not doing anything unnatural, don't worry! We're your friends, you trust us, don't you?' Kate had assured her.  
  
At that time, Lily had not been aware of what was install for her, and everytime she came near someone she considered a legible candidate, she lost her nerve. Kate and Alicia noticed this and decided to do their bit.  
  
Lily was walking, alone, to her Arithmancy class, carrying her things in her arms, moving down the packed hallway. Lily could hardly fail to notice that there did not appear to be another girl in sight when, without warning, all of her books, quills, parchment and ink left her arms, creating a mess on the floor. Lily bent down to pick up her things at the same time a tall, dark and handsome Ravenclaw leant over to get them for her.  
  
Lily looked up, and found herself transfixed. She was looking into a set of the darkest shade of brown eyes she had ever seen -and the shape of them; Lily could not get over it. As she looked into those captivating brown eyes, she disregarded all other features of him.  
  
'Thankyou.' Lily said breathlessly, as he handed her the books.  
  
'Don't mention it.' He replied, as they both straightened up.  
  
'I-I'm Lily, Lily Evans.' She said, wanting to pursue a conversation with him.  
  
'I know you're Lily -everyone knows you're Lily.' Lily flushed, 'I'm Justin Pierik, by the way.'  
  
Lily smiled at him, a mad flutter of butterflies in her stomach, and he smiled back -a pearly white, charming smile.  
  
'Are you. . .' she stared into those eyes in wonder, 'are you a seventh year?'  
  
'Yeah, I am -we have Ancient Runes together.' He replied.  
  
'Do we?' She asked, delving too deeply into those eyes to understand what she was saying.  
  
'I'll see you around.' He said to her as he began to walk away.  
  
'I hope so.' She whispered so that only she could hear.  
  
Lily entered her Arithmancy class in a dreamy state.  
  
Kate and Alicia bolted around the corner, grinning at each other.  
  
At lunch, Lily joined Kate and Alicia at the Gryffindor table, not hearing a word they had said as she stared dreamily over at the Ravenclaw table.  
  
'It seems we caught the right fish.' Kate told Alicia.  
  
'Yeah -once we get them hooked up, we just have to get James a private screening.' Alicia added.  
  
'Speaking of James. . .' Kate began, looking down the table to where the marauders were seated.  
  
'I'm telling you -it can still work!' James argued, slamming his fist stubbornly on the table.  
  
'Prongs -you'll kill all the Slytherins!' Remus persisted.  
  
'What's wrong with that?' Sirius asked, looking up from his meatloaf.  
  
Remus shot him a dark look. 'I don't know what I'm worrying about -you'll never get your hands on one anyway!'  
  
There was a devious glint in James's eyes, 'you'd like to think that, wouldn't you, Moony?'  
  
Remus frowned, 'don't patronise me!'  
  
'Well Moony,' James said, now quite calm, 'you ^are^ in on it -remember, you said -'  
  
I know what I said!' Remus snapped, 'but ^I^ didn't know how dangerous the Ballox was -and I get the strange feeling you knew all along.'  
  
'Of course I did,' James said smugly, 'and I'm surprised ^you^ didn't!'  
  
Peter looked up at James, wearing a look suggesting he was non-plussed.  
  
'B-but Prongs, if you already knew all that -then why did you go to Hagrid?' Peter asked.  
  
Remus and Sirius looked at James, showing they, too, were interested in the real reason for his actions.  
  
'Because,' James began, 'I was hoping to get some ^other^ information from Hagrid -but once he expressed he wasn't going to tell us anymore than he already had -which I already knew -it seemed pointless to pressure on, even though it's easy to get information out of Hagrid, he would have known it was us who set the thing off.'  
  
'Which is generally impossible to do anyway.' Remus added.  
  
'Not entirely.' Stated James.  
  
'What are you getting at?' Remus asked slowly.  
  
'I'm going to do it, Moony -are you in or not?' James said darkly.  
  
'Do something else, Prongs,' Remus pleaded, 'you have absolutely no idea how insane your plan is -'  
  
'It's not insane -it's brilliant!' James replied with a hungry look in his eyes.  
  
'Then I won't be a part of it.' Remus said stubbornly.  
  
'Fine -you're in, right Padfoot? Wormtail?' James turned to the others.  
  
Peter looked absolutely petrified and Sirius was in deep thought.  
  
'Forget you,' James said as Peter looked about to wet himself and turned solely to Sirius, 'what about you? You're in, right?'  
  
Well.' Sirius began slowly, James glowered, 'I don't know. if the need arises, hey?'  
  
James seemed thoroughly, what one would call, 'pissed off' but did not let loose at his companions.  
  
'Don't do it, Prongs.' Remus urged.  
  
James frowned -both in frustration and thought. They would not need to know.  
  
'Fine,' he lied angrily, 'I won't do it.'  
  
Remus let out a sigh of relief as peter fainted and Sirius skewered himself another slice of meatloaf.  
  
'Knew you weren't that thick.' Sirius said through a mouthful of meat.  
  
On Thursday morning after breakfast, Lily made her way to her Ancient Runes class, where she sat herself in her usual place -the centre of the room. As she was doing a last minute check of her homework, she found her parchment shadowed by something tall and burly -or rather, someone.  
  
'Hey, Lily. Came a voice from somewhere above.  
  
Lily looked up and her stomach did a back flip -Justin Pierik was standing infront of her, smiling his charming smile.  
  
'Yes?' She asked, almost breathless.  
  
'Did you get the second part?' He asked, in reference to their homework.  
  
'Oh!' She began to go through sheets of parchment in search of the second part. 'Ah -here it is.' Lily delved into the most detailed and complicated explanation she could, wanting to give Justin the idea she was a high achiever.  
  
Lily was made to discontinue her conversation with Justin when Professor Hemding walked in, late, as usual. Midway through the class, when Lily was busy taking notes, a scrap of parchment was slid infront of her.  
  
Dear Lily,  
  
Are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?  
  
Justin  
  
Overly excited, Lily scrawled a quick message on the back of the parchment.  
  
Dear Justin,  
  
I plan to.  
  
Lily  
  
Before the lesson was over, another sheet of parchment was slipped infront of her, this time bearing a slightly longer message.  
  
Dear Lily,  
  
Did you want to go with me?  
  
Meet me in the Great Hall at nine in the morning on Sunday and  
we can walk together if you want to go.  
  
Justin  
  
Lily turned to glance at Justin but turned away when she felt herself blush. Then she noticed there was a postscript.  
  
I think you're amazing, by the way -how do you balance all your  
studying and homework with your role as Headgirl?  
  
Lily scrawled another message to him.  
  
I'll go with you.  
  
Lily  
  
'That's brilliant!' Alicia exclaimed.  
  
They were sitting in the squashy common room chairs, lily telling them about Justin.  
  
'That was easy -I winder if James is gong to Hogsmeade weekend.' Kate said to Alicia.  
  
'Why do you wonder if. . ?' Lily sounded confused.  
  
'Merlin's beard!' Exclaimed Kate, 'you're going out with Justin because you actually ^like^ him!'  
  
'Of course,' Lily began, 'why else would I -'  
  
'That will ^really^ annoy James, that will!' Said Alicia, getting over excited.  
  
'Right.' Lily said slowly.  
  
'Making you cry like that!' Kate made a tutting sound.  
  
Lily kept quiet.  
  
~  
  
A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers! 


	6. Not abandoned

THIS STORY HAS NOT BEEN ABANDONED!!! It's a string of events that have slowed down the progression of this story, the first being the stubbornness of my computer. I realise I haven't updated for some four months or so but -I'm working on it! I swear!  
  
I have my summer break coming up in six weeks (two of those six weeks are revision and exams -so forget about seeing anything new at that time) and I'm hoping to get a couple of chapters up before then but I'm not making any promises. Come the summer break, with a bit of luck I'll be typing my way through this fictional world -unless the cricket's on. 


	7. SORRYNOT A NEW CHAPTER

Sorry to disappoint anyone that was hoping that this was a new chapter, but there are a few things I would like to mention:  
  
alya : you will find out why Lily was crying -soon.  
  
Cora Eloise: Well done! Lily was crying because of what her letter said! Well spotted!  
  
Right, I wouldn't be surprised if I've lost a whole heap of "fans" over the past few months due to my lack of -er -ability to update, or. recover from the longest bout of writer's block I've ever had.  
  
Thanks for everyone's comments on the fic -you know, I really would toss the whole thing in if I wasn't hearing from you, because if no one says anything I just think "what's the point?" and give up.  
  
I've just finished with a cluster of five tests over two days so now I should have a bit of free time, so I'm planning to somehow right a proper chapter within the next couple of weeks (caution -I plan on doing this in the late hours of the night and while I am sleeping -the plot may become weird as a result of this). 


	8. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: You know the drill.  
  
It's been a long time coming, but the next chapter is here at last! Thank you to all those people who are still reviewing after a long four-month break of. absolutely nothing.  
  
Now it's time to get serious my friends!  
  
I'm going to be busier than a bumblebee in peak season very soon -so I'm sorry to say, but updates will be very limited -but I am trying! I finish my exams in two and a half weeks, so don't expect another update before then, but a couple of days later -I'm on holiday! Can I promise you there will be more updates from that time on? Maybe not, I don't really want to make a promise I'm not 100% sure I can keep but a promise I can make is: there will be updates!!!  
  
Well, maybe it's about time I began the chapter.  
  
And don't forget Mr. ^carrot^  
  
Chapter Six  
  
On Friday afternoon, Lily was running down an empty corridor. With the pounding of her feet on the marble floor, Lily was unable to hear the footsteps of another person. She turned a corner and ran headlong into none other than James Potter, the collision causing both of them to fall to the ground. They sat up, their hands rubbing their heads.  
  
'Good one, Evans!' James scowled.  
  
'Excuse me?! I got the idea this was ^your^ fault!' Lily retorted.  
  
'How is it ^my^ fault?' He snapped.  
  
'How is it mine?' she replied.  
  
'You weren't looking -'  
  
'Neither were you!' Lily cut him off.  
  
'It was an accident,' he admitted.  
  
'I could have told you that right off,' Lily replied.  
  
'Then why didn't you?' he scowled.  
  
'Because you don't listen! You ^never^ listen!' she replied.  
  
'That's bull, Evans-'  
  
'Is it? Because last time I checked, you were still an egocentric prat who didn't like to take advice from any one!' Lily snapped.  
  
There was a slight pause, where Lily looked heatedly at James, and James stared at Lily's beautiful complexion. At that moment, he was sure he did not hate her and his expression changed abruptly.  
  
'Got to Hogsmeade with me, Evans,' he grimaced.  
  
'What?!' Lily seemed shocked at his proposal for a moment, 'I was right! You ^don't^ listen to anyone!'  
  
She stood up but James remained on the floor, looking up at her.  
  
'So that's a yes?' he asked, faking innocence.  
  
Lily glared at him, then turned to walk away. As she did so, James stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder from behind.  
  
'Why not?' he interrogated.  
  
'Because you're the last person I'd want to go with and besides -I'm going with someone else.' She turned quickly to see his reaction. James snorted.  
  
'Who's leg are you trying to pull, Evans? Did you ^beg^ him to take you?' His tone was mocking, 'did you get down on your hands and knees, start kissing his feet and then begged him to take you? I bet you did -I bet you did, didn't you, Evans? You couldn't -'  
  
Lily was not one to lose her temper, but James had a knack for pushing people over the edge -and within time, he had gotten to Lily too. She slapped him.  
  
'SHUT UP, POTTER! YOU ^REALLY^ HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!' She paused. All was silent except for her uneven breathing -even James was silent, still recovering from the shock of being slapped by Lily.  
  
***  
  
'That ought to have stirred things up a bit,' Kate told Alicia. Lily had just left to fulfill her headgirl duties after having discussed with them her run in with James. The two now remained alone in a girls lavatory, silent a part from the gentle "drip, drip" of a leaking faucet.  
  
'Justin ^is^ really good for her,' Alicia said, staring into space.  
  
'As research tells us, he's practically ^perfect^ for her -they may end up -well, you know.' Kate made a funny face.  
  
'Quite possibly,' Alicia said in a tone that implied satisfaction.  
  
'Everyone would be happy about it,' Kate smiled.  
  
'All except one,' grinned Alicia.  
  
There was a slight pause. It was too soon -much too soon -to tell, and they didn't want to jinx it or anything.  
  
'Let's just take it one step at a time,' Kate said, looking at Alicia in "that serious way."  
  
***  
  
'He's going about this whole thing the wrong way!' Sirius stated. He was seated across from Remus in the Gryffindor common room. James had locked himself in the boy's dorm -or rather, he had pulled the curtain closed and refused to speak to anyone. Peter was nowhere to be seen.  
  
'Padfoot, we all know Prongs can be as stubborn as a mule, but give him time -a lot of time, mind you -and he'll see Lily isn't interested in him,' Remus said.  
  
'But he ^knows^ Lily isn't interested -^everyone^ knows Lily isn't interested-' Sirius persisted.  
  
'Prongs knows, Padfoot, but he refuses to believe,' Remus said in his often-used wise manner.  
  
'Can't he see ^why^ she isn't interested?! Those two are like chalk and cheese! Like cat and dog! Like fire and rain! Like savouries and sweets!' Sirius continued his rant.  
  
'Padfoot, sometimes experience is all one needs to be taught a valuable lesson in life.'  
  
Sirius thought blankly for a moment, and then jumped off of his seat as though it had just been torched.  
  
'He needs to go out with Lily!' Sirius yelped in a somewhat dog-like manner, and glided out of the room.  
  
Remus sat back in his seat, shaking his head in disbelief. It would never work. Never.  
  
***  
  
James lay silently on his four-poster, thinking. Lily had been serious, and he ha been a. prat.  
  
He had admitted it. After so long, he had admitted it. He was a prat. He, James Potter, was a self-centered, obnoxious, high strung, stubborn, arrogant, immature prat.  
  
That explains a lot, James thought to himself, like why Lily was in absolutely ^no way^ whatsoever going to go for him.  
  
Ever.  
  
What would all this mean? Forget about Lily? Give up? No -James Potter had a different plan in mind. He was going to change.  
  
Change was always a good thing, right?  
  
Right?!  
  
All was going to be okay; James thought to himself, he would have Lily by the end of the year.  
  
Change was always good, always.  
  
Forget change being good, if James was ^ever^ going to have Lily, it was a necessity.  
  
***  
  
'Change?!' Sirius yelped in the Great Hall the next morning at breakfast, showering them all with fragments of the toast in his mouth.  
  
Remus said nothing, but rather stared at his empty plate, refusing to believe his ears.  
  
James Potter, change?  
  
Never.  
  
Not even for Lily.  
  
'Sh! Keep your voice down!' James hissed.  
  
'Don't talk about such absurd events, Prongs!' Sirius chuckled, still loud enough for the whole Hall to hear.  
  
James merely looked down at his hands, disbelieving of his best friend's need to laugh at such a statement.  
  
Sirius looked at James, and his expression faded rather rapidly into one of intense seriousness.  
  
'Merlin's beard,' Sirius began slowly, in a noticeably quieter voice, 'you were -you were actually being serious!'  
  
That's it, James thought, change wasn't a necessity -if his own best friend thought it was a joke -he was going to have to make it inevitable.  
  
'Prongs,' Sirius began, quieter still, 'are you sure that the ends justifies the means?'  
  
James nodded.  
  
'If it works -absolutely.'  
  
'But Prongs, what if it all ^doesn't^ work out?' Sirius asked, his tone suggesting he thought this was the more likely scenario.  
  
'It will -I'm going to make this work.'  
  
***  
  
'It'll never work!' Sirius cried, pacing the common room, which was empty apart from himself and Remus.  
  
When Remus said nothing, Sirius gave him a quizzical look. Sirius sat down opposite Remus in one of the squashy armchairs.  
  
'Well?' Sirius asked.  
  
Remus slowly looked up.  
  
'Well what?' Remus replied.  
  
'Well -where's the usual spout of wisdom -that excellent advice you always give -that's what!'  
  
Remus leaned forward as he rested his hand on his entwined fingers and thought about the situation at hand.  
  
'James is capable of change -it's hard to believe, I know -but if he wants Lily bad enough, he's quite capable of change. It's not going to be easy for him -I wouldn't say he realises that.'  
  
'But -but if he -if he does, then. then.'  
  
Remus looked up at Sirius, taking in how pale he so suddenly seemed to be.  
  
'He's going to change, Padfoot, it's time to face the music -he's going to change.'  
  
'But -but then. I'm going to lose my Prongs!'  
  
A/N: Done! Any comments on this chapter are welcome (as is any comments on ANY chapter!). So. Sirius is worried about losing his best friend. who can guess where that's going to lead? And Lily is about to go on her date with Justin very shortly -in the next chapter, as a matter of fact!  
  
But that next chapter may be a while a way. Not as long as it took for this one to get up after the last chapter, maybe within the next month, if I get enough time.  
  
See you later! 


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